In general, medical professionals, such as orthopedists or dentists use an X-ray imaging apparatus for diagnostic or therapeutic methods. In recent years, due to the development of digital X-ray imaging technology including a digital X-ray detector, X-ray imaging apparatuses that can be used for various purposes have been developed.
In particular, in the case of a dental X-ray imaging apparatus, a panoramic image, a computed tomographic image, and a cephalometric image can be imaged using a single apparatus. Thus, in order to obtain various types of X-ray images, it is necessary to adjust a field of view (FOV), that is, an area where X-rays are irradiated from an X-ray light source according to an X-ray image corresponding to the imaging purpose.
As described above, in the X-ray imaging apparatus, an X-ray collimator is a device for adjusting the FOV of the X-rays emitted from an X-ray light source. In a conventional X-ray collimator, a pair of metal plates arranged in parallel to each other is arranged in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively, and the gap between each pair of metal plates is adjusted so that an opening therebetween, i.e., the size of the opening through which X-rays can be irradiated, is adjusted.
FIG. 1 is a view showing a conventional X-ray collimator and an X-ray imaging apparatus using the same, and the conventional X-ray imaging apparatus includes an X-ray light source 10, a collimator 20 configured to an FOV of the X-rays emitted from the X-ray light source 10, and a detector 30 configured to detect the X-rays emitted from the X-ray light source 10.
However, the conventional X-ray collimator and the X-ray imaging apparatus using the same shown in FIG. 1 are configured such that edges of the opening of the collimator are in a vertically angled shape, wherein a part of the X-rays radially irradiated from the X-ray light source 10 is interfered or partially blocked at the angled edge portion, and a penumbra A is broadly generated at the edge portion of the image obtained at the detector 30.
Accordingly, the quality of the X-ray image is likely to be deteriorated, and if the penumbra A is removed from the X-ray image, the area of the detector 30 cannot be utilized sufficiently.
[Documents of Related Art] Korean Patent No. 10-1534098